The quarter-litre segment is shining in all its glory with practically every manufacturer bringing its range of models to the segment. Japanese giant Kawasaki making further inroads in the segment has launched the much awaited Z250SL in Indonesia. The suffix SL stands for Super Lightweight and is called rightly with the weight tipping the scales at 148 kgs, courtesy of the lack of a full fairing.
The Z250 SL sits below the Z250 street-fighter and has been designed to woe the sports-minded urban commuters. The Z250SL sports naked styling while the overall design has been carried forward from the Ninja 250RR Mono with a single headlamp unit, brawny looking tank and sharp lines conveying the sporty attributes of the motorcycle. The rear gets a very compact tail light unit, complementing the aggressive stance of the bike. The Z250SL also gets wide handlebars for easy manoeuvring and a complete digital instrument console also seen on the Ninja 250RR Mono.
Considering that the Kawasaki Z250SL is based on the Ninja RR Mono, it uses the same 249cc single-cylinder liquid-cooled, fuel injected motor and is tuned to produce 27.6 BHP of power at 9700 RPM and 23 Nm of torque at 8200 RPM, paired to a 6-speed gearbox. The bike gets 37 mm telescopic forks in the front and a Uni-Trak linkage suspension setup with 5-setting pre-load adjustability at the rear. Stopping power comes from a 263 mm single disc brake at the front with 2-piston callipers and a 193 mm single disc with single calliper at the rear. ABS is offered as an option.
The new Kawasaki Z250SL has been priced at 38.9 million Indonesian Rupiah (Rs. 2.03 lakhs) for the non-ABS version, and 44.9 million Indonesian Rupiah (Rs. 2.34 lakhs) for the ABS variant. Kawasaki will start deliveries of the new model by the end of this month in the country. The single-cylinder 250 twins will surely make a great buy in India as well if priced aggressively and will be competing with the Honda CBR250R, KTM Duke 200 and RC200 models when launched in the country. Much like its bigger siblings, expect the Z250SL to be a delight for power hungry Kwacker fans.
